SEOUL, November 19 (AJP) - Asian stocks edged lower for a second straight session on Wednesday, with investors remaining cautious ahead of Nvidia’s earnings and the growing “AI bubble” narrative that has weighed on sentiment across the region.
South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI slipped 0.61 percent to 3,929.51, recovering part of its earlier plunge after falling as low as 3,854.95 in morning trade.
Foreign investors sold a net 1.04 trillion won ($709 million), leading the downturn, while retail investors bought 446.5 billion won and institutions purchased 625.6 billion won, attempting to position for a potential rebound.
The won showed no sign of stabilizing. As of 4:30 p.m., the currency weakened further to 1,465.6 won per dollar, up 4.6 won from the previous day.
Market bellwethers pared back earlier losses, but remained far from a full rebound. Samsung Electronics fell 1.33 percent to 96,500 won, while SK hynix dropped 1.4 percent to 562,000 won. Hynix, Nvidia’s largest memory supplier, briefly broke below the 550,000-won level before recovering some losses late in the session.
Not all AI-adjacent names were dragged down.
Samsung Electro-Mechanics jumped 5.39 percent to 215,000 won, and Hyundai Autoever rose 2.92 percent to 186,500 won, buoyed by expectations of major AI-related investment from Samsung Group and Hyundai Motor Group.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.34 percent lower at 48,537.70, reversing early gains as regional weakness spread through the afternoon.
Chip stocks stayed subdued. Advantest slipped 0.57 percent to 19,150 yen ($123.2), Tokyo Electron declined 1.97 percent to 30,860 yen, and Ibiden, known as a key Nvidia partner, tumbled 4.12 percent to 11,640 yen.
Taiwan’s TAIEX also retreated, falling 0.66 percent to 26,580.12.
Earlier strength in chip stocks faded as TSMC dropped 0.71 percent to 1,395 Taiwan dollars ($44.7) and MediaTek slipped 0.85 percent to 1,160 Taiwan dollars.
China’s Shanghai Composite Index bucked the trend, edging up 0.18 percent to 3,946.74.
Solar-related stocks were mixed. Cybrid Technologies, a maker of solar-panel backsheets, surged 10.02 percent to 13.62 yuan ($1.92) amid optimism over rising data-center demand and stabilizing silicon prices. Solareast Holdings, on the other hand, plunged 10.02 percent to 11.58 yuan on concerns about weakening earnings.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index traded 0.48 percent lower at 25,805, with tech stocks leading the decline. Xiaomi fell 4.81 percent to 38.82 Hong Kong dollars ($5), while EV maker Li Auto lost 2.6 percent to 71.3 Hong Kong dollars.
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